Once Upon A Time
by hannahncakes
Summary: This world made no sense. Fairytales didn't just become reality. But the Doctor knew he had to try to understand what was going on and, more importantly, find River.
1. Phone Call

Once Upon A Time. 

Chapter One: Phone call. 

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the characters or plot lines from Doctor Who. Innit.

Author's Notes: This is my first attempt at something vaguely linear and with an actual plot. Eek. So I hope it isn't too painful, enjoy…

The Doctor looked up quickly in alarm as the phone rang. The TARDIS juddered around him as it continued to sit there, just ringing at him. Despite supposedly being a police phone box it was strangely rare that he received calls- and it was even rarer that he was in a position to answer them. Today, however, he decided he would answer it. Nothing much had happened today and nothing much would happen unless he grabbed this opportunity.

"Hello!" He called cheerfully as he grabbed the receiver. "This is the TARDIS, the Doctor speaking, how can I-"

"Yes, yes, I know!" Snapped an abrasive Scottish voice. "You took your time!"

"Pond?" The Doctor checked quickly- the last thin he wanted was to get one angry Scottish woman mixed up with another.

"Yes, of course it's me." Amy snapped again. "Now will you come and help us or not?"

"Where are you?" The Doctor sighed wearily as he twirled around the TARDIS controls preparing to input their location. Honestly, it was rule number one and yet as soon as he left them alone they always managed to wander off.

"Well that's the problem, we don't really know." Amy muttered quietly.

"You don't _know_?" The Doctor repeated in shock. "How can you not know where you are?"

"Well y'see, it's Rory's fault really."

"Ah, Rory, I might have known. What's he gone and put his big nose in this time?" The Doctor chuckled.

"Well," Amy began again. "River was giving us a lift home with her vortex manipulator-"

"Cheap, nasty toy." The Doctor cut across her, muttering.

"Yes… Well, _anyway_…" Amy continued pointedly. "River was just about to hit the co-ordinates when Rory saw an exciting new button and just had to- hey!"

"I was only going to point to it!" A new voice interjected as the Doctor eyed the phone in confusion.

"Rory?" He asked quickly.

"Yes. Of course. So I only meant to point to the button to find out what it did, because I'm interested in those kind of things-"

"Naturally." The Doctor nodded sympathetically.

"But my finger must have slipped because the button got pushed somehow and now we're God knows where and-"

"Calm down. Breathe Rory, breathing is important." The Doctor soothed him. "Are there any hints as to where you are? Any landmarks, recognizable symbols, signs saying "Welcome To The North Pole" or similar?"

"No Doctor." Rory replied dryly. "I think even _we_ could decipher a hint like that. It's pretty obvious its not earth, that's all I can say for sure. Well, that and it seems like-"

"Where's River?" The Doctor interjected impatiently. "Put her on. She'll know where you are."

"I was getting to that." Rory muttered through gritted teeth. "That's part of the problem. When we got here-"

"They took her Doctor." Amy almost shouted as the phone changed hands again. "They came and they took her. They had big guns and kept talking about her being 'the fairest in the land' and that she would have to 'sleep it off' and rambling about some magic mirror and a queen and it's all-"

"Amy. Amy Pond!" The Doctor shouted. "What are you talking about? This sounds like something out of a fairytale!"

"I know it sounds crazy," Amy sighed. "But honestly if you could just get here you'll see-"

"Amelia Pond." The Doctor sighed. "Are you telling me you are stuck in a fairytale?"

"Oh Doctor." Amy laughed in a voice most unlike hers. "Aren't we all?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes as he put the phone down heavily. This family were nothing but trouble.


	2. You've Got To Be Kidding

Once Upon A Time

_Chapter Two: You've Got To Be Kidding_

_**Disclaimer:**I still don't own it._

_Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed or alerted this story, it means a lot to me. Hope you all continue to enjoy..._

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and blinked as he looked around quickly, scanning for life. He screwed his eyes against the blinding light as he tried to work out where and when he was. He knew that Amy and Rory must be close because he'd locked onto their location and the TARDIS had brought him here and she never got it wrong. Well, rarely got it wrong. Well, quite often she got it wrong to be honest. In fact she got it wrong nearly as much as she got it right. But he could tell that this time she'd got it right- Amy and Rory were here somewhere, he could sense it.

"Ponds?" The Doctor called nervously as he stepped forward through the long grass, stumbling as he did. He had landed, it appeared, in the middle of a field. It looked very much like any other field at first glance but the more he looked the more he could sense that something was, somehow, wrong. It was wrong because it looked too right, too real. The colours were too sharp, the lines on the mountains too clear-cut. It was like someone had painted a real field with garish poster-paints. And he didn't like it at all.

"Doctor?" He heard a faint Scottish voice call from the middle of the field.

"Amy!" The Doctor grinned broadly as he raced forward towards the source of the noise. "Here I am, I came like I said I would, like I always do! The Doctor in the TARDIS here to save the-" He broke off quickly as he stopped abruptly to avoid stepping on something very squishable. "What are you doing down there?"

"Hiding. What do you think?" Amy hissed as she grabbed at his ankle and pulled hard, bringing the Doctor crashing to the floor alongside her and Rory.

"Rory." The Doctor nodded awkwardly as he rearranged his limbs quickly, trying to give the impression it had been his intention all along to end splayed on the floor. "Nice to see you, how's things?"

"Oh shut up." Amy snapped before Rory could reply.

"Amelia Pond." The Doctor pouted as he pushed himself up on his elbows to stare at her. "You have been nothing but horrible to me since I arrived. What is wrong with you?"

"Oh I don't know." Amy growled. "Maybe it's the fact that we're stuck on some godforsaken planet and it takes you three hours to show up or maybe it's because our daughter was taken away from us before we could help her and that we had to run for our lives and have been hidden in a field since then hoping we won't get abducted by the same people. Take your pick."

"Oh right." The Doctor scratched his face nervously, chewing on his lip. "I see what you mean. Yes. That might be a bit annoying..." He trailed off quickly as he saw the look Amy threw him. "But really- if you want to get River back then hiding is not the way to do it."

"And you have a better plan, I suppose?" Amy rolled her eyes.

"Of course I do." The Doctor grinned as he jumped lightly back onto his feet and looked around quickly. "Hey, you, soldiers!" He shouted loudly, waving his arms above his head. "Can you help us? We've lost our friend."

"Oh brilliant." Amy groaned as she pulled herself to her feet, scowling across at Rory as he copied her. "I wonder why we never thought of doing that."

"Hello there!" The Time Lord smiled widely as he strode forward with his hand outstretched. "I was wondering if you could help us. You see we're-" He broke off quickly, yelping with pain as one of the soldiers grabbed his arm and twisted it quickly behind his back, pinning the Doctor to him.

"You are unregistered. You must join a story." The other soldier muttered robotically as he stared at the Doctor. Everything from their uniform to the parting in their hair was identical and identically perfect- and that was never a good sign.

"No, no." Rory mumbled as he stumbled forwards and both soldiers turned to glare at him in unison. He gulped. "We are, we're all involved in a story all ready. Aren't we Amy?"

"Urm... Yes. Yep. Definitely in one of those." Amy smiled weakly as Rory nodded significantly.

"We have no record of you." The second solider snapped as he looked the couple up and down unblinkingly. "You are not on file."

"No, well, you wouldn't. I mean we've only just arrived but you have our daughter here. So we're in her story. River Song. She's on record, right?" Rory jabbered nervously.

"There is no one of that name in any story." The first soldier barked as he tightened his grip on the Doctor's arm.

"No, well she wouldn't be under that name." Rory blurted out quickly, looking worriedly from the Doctor to the soldier and back again. "She'd be under... Amy, what's the name of the girl in the story? Fairest in the land and all that." He hissed to his wife.

"Urm... Sleeping, no- wait! The other one. Snow White. She's snow white."Amy recalled with relief.

"And who are you to our Snow White?" The soldier barked.

"Well I'm her dad." Rory shrugged and the soldiers looked him up down before nodding abruptly. Apparently this was satisfactory.

"And I'm her mum." Amy smiled.

"Snow White has no mother." The second solider barked and Amy swore quietly.

"Well I'm her, urm, step mum then." She rolled her eyes.

"The position of queen has been filled." He stated blankly.

"Well in that case I'm-"

"She's a dwarf!" Rory cut across, grinning wildly.

"A dwarf?" The soldier repeated, confused. "Which one?"

"The... urm... Angry Scottish one?" He hesitated slightly. "On stilts." The soldiers looked back and forth repeatedly before shrugging slightly, apparently resigned to the idea.

"And this one?" The first soldier asked, pushing the Doctor forward slightly. "Who is he?"

"Well, can't you tell?" Amy replied quickly, throwing the Doctor a significant look that told him in no uncertain terms to keep his mouth shut and let her handle this. "He's the Prince. Her one true love. Can't have a story without a prince."

"Is this true?" the soldier demanded.

"Well-" The Doctor started.

"It's true." Amy and Rory shouted in unison, drowning out whatever he may decide to say next.

"Yes. Fine. Apparently I am the prince." The Doctor sighed heavily. "But now we really just want to get our friend back. How do we go about that?"

"There are tasks that you must undertake, in order to wake Snow White for she has eaten from the poison apple and shall forever lie in her tomb-"

"Yes, yes." The Doctor growled as he shook slightly at the words. "Just tell us what we need to do to get her."

"As I said there are a number of tasks-"

"The first one being?" The Doctor asked through gritted teeth.

"You must slay a dragon." The soldier said calmly as he released the Doctor.

"I must what now?" The Doctor spluttered as he fell forward, rubbing his arm.

"Slay. A. Dragon." He repeated slowly.

"You have got to be kidding me." The Doctor sighed as he massaged his temples.

"Do I look like I am joking, Prince?"

"No. No I suppose you don't." The Doctor shook his head sadly. "In that case: take me to your dragon. Now there's something I didn't think I'd be saying this morning."

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	3. I'm Home

Once Upon A Time

Chapter Three: I'm Home

**Disclaimer:**I am not Steven Moffat, as much as I wish I was.

Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who is following this story and all those who have reviewed it- you are amazing! Hope you enjoy this latest chapter…

"So, that's the dragon." The Doctor gulped as the party came to an abrupt stop and gazed up at the imposing figure that towered above them.

"Yes." One of the soldiers replied stiffly as they turned to look at the Doctor in confusion. "That is the dragon. The dragon you must slay in order to-"

"Ah see, I had a horrible feeling you might say that." The Doctor smirked.

"Say what?" The solider demanded quickly.

"That word. _Slay._ I must _slay_ the dragon. I am the Doctor. I do not slay anything." He announced.

"You are the prince. You must complete the trail to be able to rescue the princess-"

"Ah but that's where you are, I'm afraid, rather mistaken. I may be a prince to you but I am not killing anything to rescue River. That is just not going to happen." The Doctor folded his arms and stared levelly at his two challengers.

"Then you will never see her. She will sleep forever in the tower if you are too afraid to rescue her." The second solider grunted.

"No, see, that's not going to happen either." The Doctor smiled. "See, I am not going to let her get trapped because of me and I'm certainly not going to let any other creature get hurt because of me- it doesn't work like that. Not for me anyway."

"The dragon must be defeated if you want to progress to the tower to rescue Snow White. It is blocking your way- you must kill it to clear your path." The second soldier snapped in frustration at this man, this impossible man who seemed completely incapable of accepting the way things had to be done.

"You talk a lot but you don't know must about communication do you?" The Doctor chuckled softly.

"That's it, just insult the soldiers with the big guns." Amy muttered sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Oh shush Pond." He grinned. "It's true. They know nothing about-"

"It's a dragon!" The first solider interrupted angrily.

"He has a point." Rory piped up from Amy's side. "It _is_ a dragon. A great big dragon we have no way of getting round."

"We could just ask it to move." The Doctor stated as if it were the most obvious solution.

"We could, yes." Rory replied with as much patience as he could muster. "But like I said before, it is a dragon and I'm not sure how much it will understand "move" or "lie down" unless it's had a very good trainer-"

"Rory, Rory. You are forgetting- I speak dragon." The Doctor bounced excitedly as he looked up at the creature currently breathing fire into the distance.

"No, Doctor." Amy sighed as she shook her head. "No you can't."

"Oh but I can Amy, I can speak everything!" He bowed elaborately as he stepped forward towards the dragon without hesitation.

"Oh God. He's going to get eaten." Amy sighed as she placed her head in her hands.

"Well maybe then he'll learn he can't speak everything." Rory murmured as he watched him go.

The Doctor held his head high as he approached the creature that snorted and scuffed its feet angrily, causing the whole ground to tremble. Furls of smoke poured from the end of its long nose and spikes glistened on its tail as it twitched from side to side as it watched this small figure approach and yet the Doctor grinned. He bounced up to the creature with excitement shining in his eyes as if he were going to stroke a small puppy. The mismatched crowd stood back and watched with baited breath as he continued closer and closer until he was within touching distance of the creature. Then he did something none of them expected. He opened his mouth and began to utter deep, grunting noises that were most definitely not human and seemed unable to be created by such a small body. The sound seemed to be everywhere at once, it engulfed the watching crowd and made the air around them vibrate as they waited and waited. After what felt like a lifetime the Doctor turned around and beamed at them.

"Well come on scaredy cats! We haven't got all day!" He laughed as he beckoned them forward.

"What just happened there?" Amy gasped as she began to walk gingerly forward, the others following closely behind her.

"I simply explained to her the situation and she decided that it was a preferable option to move aside and let us pass rather than have the hassle of a lengthy battle with me which neither of us would enjoy." The Doctor called proudly.

"You spoke dragon, didn't you?" Amy smiled in disbelief as she drew level with him and watched the huge figure shift slightly, showing them a clear path to the tower where River was imprisoned.

"You bet I did." He boasted. "Now, what do you say- want to go rescue your daughter?"

"Oh go on then." Amy agreed as she grabbed hold of his hand and they began to run.

"Now just wait a moment!" One of the soldiers called as they sprinted after them. "It doesn't work like this!"

"Looks like it does now, sorry mate." Rory shrugged apologetically as he sped up to keep up with his wife.

"Wait, wait!" The soldiers panted as they finally caught up with the odd trio at the base of the tower. "You must, at least, scale the wall of the tower to rescue the princess."

"But there's a door there." The Doctor looked at him in confusion. "I can see a door right there."

"It's locked." The first soldier replied testily.

"Well, I can unlock it." The Doctor grinned as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and waved it elaborately. "Setting for everything, as long as the lock's not made of wood that is…"

"But, but… It's un-chivalrous, you need to show your princess how much she means to you, how much you'd endure to ensure her safety!" He pressed on pleadingly.

"Oh trust me, she knows." The Doctor quipped as he unlocked the door in one fluid motion. "Now I'm taking the stairs. If you wish to join me you're more than welcome but if you feel the need to do a spider-man impression then to prove a point I'll happily meet you at top." He gave them a quick thumbs up before he began to bound up the stairs two at a time without looking back to see that the rest of the party were following behind him.

He reached the top, panting slightly, and gulped as he looked through the stone archway in front of him. There in front of him was a large stone room empty apart from an elaborate four-poster bed surrounded by white drapes. He closed his eyes and steadied himself momentarily, knowing what he was going to see behind those drapes. As he walked forward he felt his hands shake slightly and his hearts flutter in a way that unnerved him rather a lot and as he pulled back the material that obscured his view it felt like every particle in him just stopped for a moment. She lay there looking so beautiful but so delicate in a way she never looked, not even when she slept. Every part of her was still, almost frozen. There was no smirk on her red lips, no flutter of her eyes, no rise and fall of her chest. As he reached out to stroke her hair gently even that seemed still, like the spark that made her _his River_ was gone and just a shell remained. He fought back a lump that threatened to lodge itself in his throat forever as he heard the footsteps stop in the doorway and all eyes focus on him.

"Hi honey," He whispered gently as he stroked her face, trying to reassure himself she was really there. "I'm home."

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	4. One True Love

Once Upon A Time

Chapter Four: One True Love.

**Disclaimer:** I am merely borrowing these characters and promise to put them back where I found them.

Author's Note: Thank you very much to everyone who has reviewed or favourited this story, I'm so glad that you're all enjoying it! I will be updating as often as I can but have limited internet at the moment, which is proving problematic but stick with me and we'll get there. Anyway, enough waffling- here's the next part…

"So, urm, what happens now?" Amy asked awkwardly as she tried to break the oppressive silence that filled the room

"Amy, have you never read fairy tales?" Rory scoffed as he rolled her eyes at the lack of knowledge on the subject.

"Well no, Rory." Amy huffed. "I had slightly more important things to do with my childhood than sit around listening to silly stories about princesses. But clearly you are some kind of expert on it so, please, do tell us."

"Well what happens is that the Prince arrives to rescue the Princess and then the spell can only be broken by him kissing her-"

"So she just needs a snog and she'll be all fixed?" Amy queried with a smirk.

"Not exactly." Rory sighed. "It can't just be a kiss from _anyone _it has to be from her one true love- only that will allow her to wake up. That's right, isn't it?" He looked anxiously across to the two soldiers who stood beside them in the doorway. They nodded in unison and Rory smiled.

"And you know this because…?" Amy laughed as she raised an eyebrow.

"Well I urm… I mean… My Nan used to read them to me… When I was little." Rory stuttered quickly.

"Of course she did. Your _Nan_. Right." She grinned at him. "And you wonder why I thought you were gay for all those years!"

"Hey now, that's really-"

"If you two have quite finished with the domestic!" The Doctor snapped as he stood up quickly from where he had been crouched at River's side, making the couple jump as they remembered where they were and found their smiles slipping quickly from their faces. "Are you telling me I just have to kiss River and she'll be fine? All fixed and not scarily non-movey and no-breathy like she is now?"

"A kiss from her one true love is the only thing that will revive Snow White." The first soldier announced.

"From her… Right… Well that's…" The Doctor gulped as he scratched his face involuntarily, revealing his nerves. "That's good but what if, just theoretically speaking, what if I'm not her one true love?"

"Doctor." Amy growled darkly. "This is my daughter we're talking about. My daughter you married and who is currently serving a lot of life sentences for your murder, which she didn't commit. You are not telling me you don't love her."

"No, no, no!" The Doctor stammered quickly as he shook his head vigorously. "I don't mean it like that! I mean I do love her, your daughter, I do. Very good with the loving and I would not, definitely _not_, have got married to her if there was no love. Because that would be wrong and immoral and then there is the fact that you are very Scottish and he is very Roman and-"

"So if you love her so much, what exactly is the problem?" Amy folded her arms and looked very unimpressed.

"Well it's just… It's complicated." The Doctor sighed as he looked away. All this talk about feelings made him most uncomfortable.

"Try us." Rory interrupted stonily and the Doctor gulped. There was no way out of this, no joke he could make to lighten the mood, no way he could distract them, not even an alien attack that could possibly happen. No he was just going to have to stand there and have this conversation with his parents-in-law while his wife lay on the bed somewhere between life and death. All in all this was not one of his best days.

"I'm not like you. You always forget that. Very alien, very old- that's me. Mad man with a box. I've lived a long time, loved a lot of people, even married a few of them… So to be able to stand here and say that we're 'true loves' seems like lying because it's never that simple. Not with me and not with her. Half he life she loves me and half her life she plans to kill me and we're always out of order, lives running back to front. It's just not that simple. No matter how much we're trying to pretend at the moment me and River Song are most definitely _not _a fairytale." The Doctor shuddered, drawing in a deep breath as he finished- his eyes flitting from Amy to Rory and back to try to judge their reaction.

"But you love her." Amy smiled softly.

"I love a lot of people." The Doctor replied sadly.

"But you love her like a wife. You love her like I love Rory." Amy pressed him.

"Well yes." He mumbled awkwardly.

"And tell me, right now, is there any one else you could imagine being with?" Amy spoke quietly as the Doctor gazed down at the woman who lay motionless on the bed.

"No." He whispered quietly as he felt tears well up in his eyes.

"Then, for goodness sake, kiss her!" Amy grinned as she squeezed Rory's arm.

"Are you sure? I mean you don't think I should just-"

"Kiss her." Amy repeated firmly.

"Fine, fine." The Doctor mumbled sulkily as he turned his attention back to River. "Well, here goes nothing."

He took a deep breath as he lent down, his lips creeping slowly closer towards hers. Although they'd kissed numerous times before it had always been her who initiated it and him following her lead. She'd always been the strong one, the confident one, even when she'd only just met him. And now suddenly he had to be the one to take control and at a time when it had never been more important. He thought of how she must have felt when she brought him back, when she sacrificed her regenerations to save him even though she hardly knew him, and the memory steadied his shaking hands. He kissed her softly, his lips brushing gently against her unresponsive ones as he willed her to wake up, to wind her arms around him and pull him closer and kiss him until he had to break away for breath. But instead he felt nothing: no movement, no warmth returning to her body, no gasp of life… Nothing.

"It didn't work." He gasped as he pulled back, his voice heavy with emotion.

"What happened?" Rory snapped as he looked at the soldiers intensely.

"Nothing." The second soldier replied simply.

"Well, yes, I can see that." Rory sighed. "But _why_ has nothing happened?"

"We now have to wait to see if the prince is in fact Snow White's true love." The soldier shrugged.

"But how? This never happened in the books!" Rory grumbled, angry that his knowledge of fairytales was being undermined in such a way.

"She must go on a quest." The first solider cut across.

"And how exactly is she supposed to manage that as she's stuck in a bed unable to move or speak?" Amy snapped.

"The quest will be in her mind." He informed her, as if this was the most obvious answer in the world.

"I hate quests." The Doctor said sadly as he sat down heavily on the bed beside River. "Quests are rubbish."

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	5. Masquerade

Once Upon A Time

Chapter Five: Masquerade 

**Disclaimer:** I am not rich and not all that clever and I do not own Doctor Who.

Author's Note: Woo I have internet again, all is right with the world! Sorry about the delay but we are nearing the end of this story-ette so thank you to everyone who has stuck with it & hope you're all enjoying still…

"Snow White!" A harsh voice echoed off the walls as River opened her eyes quickly and tried to focus on what was in front of her.

"I… What? Where am I?" She muttered incoherently as she turned her head quickly and the room began to spin. She saw bright white walls twirling around her and two faces she didn't know and couldn't focus on and she let out a sigh of frustration as she lent back onto her pillow hoping she hadn't been drugged. Not again. That never ended well for the person who tried it.

"You're safe. Sit up when you can." The voice spoke again, slightly softer this time.

"Oh yes because that never sounds at all ominous, does it?" River growled as she closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure. "So you're not going to tell me where I am?"

"You are in a safe place and once you have received your instructions you shall move on from here." The voice soothed her.

"Once again I would like to thank you for your clarity and general helpfulness in the matter." River grimaced as she pulled herself into a sitting position. Her head was pounding and she felt sick to her stomach- now was really not a good time to try being smart with her.

"There's no rush Snow White, if you just-"

"My name is not," She snapped as her eyes flew open and focused on the man in front of her. "Snow White. My name is River Song. I don't know if you have any concept of what that means but you do not want to mess with me. Not right now. So please just give me whatever "instructions" you have to give me so I can get out of here."

"Are you sure you're ready?" The man asked as he stared into her face with concern. She looked pale and woozy but her eyes were set into a steely resolve and he gulped slightly. Whoever she was, or whoever she thought she was, he didn't have the slightest inclination to 'mess with her' as she put it.

"I'm ready." River nodded as she pulled herself to her feet, fighting the urge to sway. She looked around her quickly, trying to asses the danger. All white room with one single white bed. No doors or widows. One man dressed in a black suit and seemingly unarmed. Could be worse. Could also be a whole lot better.

"Okay then." He smiled patronisingly at her and she rolled her eyes slightly. "So this is the in-between room, neither here nor there, a sort-of limbo if you will-"

"Wait." River cut across quickly, panic filling her eyes for a second. "Am I dead, are you trying to tell me I'm dead?"

"No, of course you're not dead." The stranger sighed impatiently. "You outsiders are so darn difficult to deal with when you don't know anything. You're asleep in a tower after having been rescued by your prince charming waiting to go on a quest to find your true love."

"Well obviously that's far more plausible than being dead." River rolled her eyes again. "Hey- what do you mean a quest to find my true love?"

"Well I was trying to explain that." The man huffed quietly.

"So explain quicker." River growled as she stepped towards him- eyes flashing dangerously.

"Okay, okay, I will." He gulped as he stumbled backwards. "But you have to take my hand first."

"And that will, what, magically transport us into another world?" River laughed as she looked at his outstretched hand.

"Well, yes, pretty much." He shrugged apologetically.

"You have got to be kidding me." She sighed as she closed her eyes and reluctantly put her hand into his.

"There we go," The man, her apparent _guide_ through the strange world, announced as River heard a faint pop. "That wasn't so painful was it?"

"We've… Where are…" River gasped as she looked around her quickly, trying to adjust in the change in setting. This new room couldn't have been more different to their previous location if it'd tried. It was possibly the biggest hall she'd ever been in. The walls were decorated elaborately with golden spirals, long red curtains hung from the arched windows and fell all the way down to red and gold chequered floor. "Is this the royal ball or something?"

"Well, yes, I suppose." Her guide muttered, annoyed that his big announcement had been ruined.

"And you said I had… What was it? A quest? Sound promising. Do I have to hunt someone down, rescue a damsel, steal some jewels? Do I at least get a gun?" River grinned excitedly.

"Not quite." He smirked, apparently enjoying himself once again. "But you will have to change." Swiftly he looked her up and down, tutted and clicked his fingers. River gasped in alarm.

"What have you done?" She shouted as she pulled at the clothes that had appeared on her body. She looked, it could only be described, like a walking toilet roll holder. Her jeans and shirt had been replaced by the largest, frilliest, pink dress she had ever seen complete with pink bow and glitter. "What the **hell** have you done?"

"This outfit is much more fitting of a princess." He smiled.

"Trust me. I'm a lot of things but I am definitely not a princess." River growled as she continued to glare at the dress.

"Well, for tonight, you'll have to be." The man smiled again and River bit back the urge to punch his smug face. "Just one more thing and you'll be ready." He lifted a hand gently to her face and conjured an elaborate mask from nowhere that moulded exactly to her skin, obscuring her every feature.

"Get it off me." River hissed as she tried to pull at the mask.

"It's no use, it won't budge. Not until your task is completed. It's best not to fight it." He tried to sooth her.

"And what if I said I'm not going to play this stupid **task**? What then?" River snapped.

"Well then you'll be stuck here forever. Alone. Never able to see your loved ones again. It's your choice, princess." He whispered.

"Fine." River replied stiffly, refusing to look at him. "What do I have to do?"

"All you have to do." He raised one arm elaborately. "Is find each other." As his arm swept across the room it left a trail of people- couples that filled every inch of the floor. Every one of them was identical. The woman in this ridiculous pink dress and the man in a black suit- all with masks covering every inch of face, all with identical hairstyle, all dancing in synch. It hurt her eyes to look at for more than a few second and made her head spin to think about.

"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?" River snapped.

"True love finds a way. If he is your true love, that is." He pushed her forwards and she stumbled slightly as she fell into the arms of one of the clones. River turned back to ask him how she'd know but he'd gone. Vanished. She was all alone.

**Reviews are awesome. **

Author's Note 2: I'd just like to say that the idea for the whole masquerade ball thing is from a prompt that RiverStellaSong sent me ages ago, and I'm very grateful for the wonderful idea :D


	6. So Much For My Happy Ending

Once Upon A Time

Chapter Six: So Much For My Happy Ending

**Disclaimer: ** I really don't own any of it. Sorry about that.

Author's Note: Well hello, I hope y'all haven't forgotten about me. I feel amazingly guilty about how long it's been but uni work & pregnancy & illness… It all adds up. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this latest chapter…

"Urm… Hello?" River spluttered as she found herself being swung around by one of the many men that now surrounded her. Faceless, numerous and all moving in synch as she fell over her feet in an attempt to keep up.

"Hello." He replied sombrely. He didn't sound like the Doctor but then, for all she knew, she might not sound like River to him. She didn't know much any more and it was making her head hurt. All she wanted was to get out of this damn place and back to something that resembled normality.

"I don't suppose you could tell me what exactly I'm supposed to be doing here, could you?" River asked as politely as she could as the man spun her around vigorously.

"It's simple. You have one choice. You have to decide which one is the one for you." He explained simply.

"Are we supposed to have some specific question, some code word I've forgotten?" River snapped as she felt herself be pulled around once again and tried her best not to trip. Following had never been her strong point.

"No. There is no trick to this, you will either know or you will not."

"God, everyone here's so useful." River scowled. "Well I can tell it's not **you** so that's something." She quickly flung the man away from her and he spun into the arms of another woman as all the dancers rotated around her, giving the sensation that she was at the centre of some kind of bizarre dancing universe.

"Sweetie?" She asked cautiously as she eyed the man who had just placed his hands on her waist and began to waltz her once again.

"I could be your sweetie, if you wanted." He murmured sleazily as River shuddered and recoiled quickly.

"No." River replied bluntly as she pushed him away. "Just no."

The second he left her arms River felt another man begin to steer her around the dance floor. She shut her eyes and let out a long sigh, trying to make herself calm enough to talk to the next clone. The next man who would be awfully flirtatious or deliberately obscure. The next man who wouldn't be him.

"Hello?" She asked in a dull tone as she gazed into his eyes, trying to find that spark that would set him apart from all the others.

"Well hello princess." He growled and River groaned.

"Next!" She shouted as she pushed him away and received her next dance partner, then the next, and the next. Each one was dismissed promptly with a roll of her eyes and a sinking heart because she didn't know what it was she was looking for exactly but she knew, within seconds, that none of them had it. The line of men kept coming, spinning her faster and faster until she felt like she was going to throw up.

"STOP!" She shouted as she pulled herself out of the embrace of the nameless, faceless man who stood next to her. "Everyone just stop!" Her breath was ragged as she glanced around the room at all the pairs who mimicked her and her partner. Confusion flooded their identical faces as they froze mid-dance and watched her intently, unsure what to do in this situation. This was not how it was supposed to happen.

River breathed deeply as she steadied herself. She knew if only she could think, just think for one second, she'd be able to work out how to get out of this. There must be some sign, some difference that she'd recognise even here. As she walked slowly through the crowded room every man inclined his head at the same angle and tightened his grip on the woman in front of him as if afraid River would launch herself at them. Even now, when they all remained motionless in front of her, she felt enclosed and trapped by their very number. She was just about to give up, to sit down and shout until someone did **something** to make this nightmare go away, when she saw a slight movement in the corner. It was nothing specific, she couldn't even tell who it was, but in this sea of symmetry any independent movement meant only one thing: hope.

"Out of my way." River whispered harshly as she pushed herself towards the far corner, through the crowds of dancers. As she reached the final couple she felt her breath catch in her chest. There, almost hidden from view, was a man. He was dressed just like every other man she'd met tonight, every man she'd pushed away and despaired at, but instead of being entwined with some faceless girl in a pale pink dress he was crouched down talking quietly to a child who was crying and clutching a grazed knee. River grinned to herself as she stepped boldly forward. It had to be him.

"Sweetie?" She breathed as she drew level with him. His face turned up towards her and broke into a broad grin- the first real smile she'd seen since finding herself in this awful place.

"And what sort of time do you call this?" He laughed gently and River fell to her knees beside him and threw her arms clumsily around his shoulders, hugging him close to her.

"Oh thank God." She whispered as he kissed the side of her face. As soon as he did River felt the ground beneath her begin to rock, to dissolve, she felt like she was falling and she tried to cling onto the man she'd just found but her hands clutched at thin air. She tried to call out, to scream at the injustice of it all, but she could only gulp noiselessly as she swirled forever downwards until eventually she landed flat on her back.

"River?" She heard a voice sniff beside her as she pulled herself upright, eyes darting about and ready to fight whatever had just done that to her.

"Where am? What's going… Mum?" River finished quickly as she looked down and saw the alarming image of her mother huddle by the side of the bed she'd landed on, hands clasped together as if in prayer and tears streaming down her face.

"River? Are you really… I mean, are you okay?" Amy asked shakily as she reached out to touch her daughter's arm, to reassure herself she was here.

"Am I back? Is this real again?" River asked shakily as she looked to her father who stood stonily at the end of the bed, grasping onto the frame for support.

"Yes, yes." He nodded quickly. "This is real. You're really back."

"You were gone for days River, we thought-" Amy mumbled before River cut her off.

"And the Doctor, where is he?" She smiled slightly as she thought of finally being reunited with her husband who she'd searched so long to find.

"He's… Well… He's gone." Amy mumbled quietly, not daring to meet the older woman's eyes.

"What do you mean he's gone?" River asked darkly.

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	7. Never Say Never

Once Upon A Time

Chapter Seven: Never Say Never

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Doctor Who, but I am very good at putting my stories on hiatus.

Author's Note: I AM SO SORRY for the delay. In my defence- been giving birth to a baby and that but, yeah, really sorry. This is going to be the last part and many thanks to everyone who has reviewed during the long wait and kicked my arse into finally writing the ending. Hope you enjoy…

"Right if I was a Time Lord in a strange land looking for someone to write my wrongs where would I be… Where would I be? Think River, think." River muttered as she ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the alien countryside. Her head was still spinning as she tried to process the information she'd been given before she'd ran as quickly as she could from that hideous tower that had tried to imprison her.

Asleep for days…Living a fairytale… He thought you didn't love him… That he couldn't save you… He just left… We don't know where he's gone.

Her parent's voices looped around and around in her head as she stopped, gasping for breath, on the out-skirts of the city. All around her were thatched cottages with smoke pouring out of the chimneys and, further in the distance, castle-like buildings that shone in the bright sunlight. She shuddered. This just didn't seem right. Then she saw, almost directly in the centre, the biggest castle surrounded by drawbridge and moat and a large number of guards. And if she knew the Doctor at all she'd bet everything she owned on him being right in there. River sighed, rolled up her sleeves and quickly checked that her holster was securely fastened around her waist before she set off in the direction of the palace.

XoxoxoxoX

River crept quietly up to the palace gates, sticking to the shadows and mentally thanking every covert operation she'd been on for giving her the skills to be able to pull off a surprise attack like this. She knew she was a good shot but right now she was out-numbered a-hundred-to-one and those were odds she really didn't like: no, being unnoticed was definitely the way forward.

"So have you heard what they're doing with him?" River jumped as she heard one of the guards that were standing outside the main gate address his companion.

"Well he's in the dungeons at the moment." The second grunted in reply and River rolled her eyes: there was only one man they could be talking about.

"I heard that the Queen's sentenced him to death." The first continued to gossip and it was all River could do to keep from gasping.

"Before giving him a hearing? That's rare." His colleague replied without an ounce of compassion.

"Well not a public one, no. He's too dangerous: he'd upset the balance. But she's going to talk to him in top tower before hand. That should be starting any minute now and then…" He pulled one finger across his throat and let out a horrible noise before laughing deeply.

River's heart began to beat so fast it threatened to burst out of her chest and she instinctively reached for her gun but, before she'd even raised it, she shook her head slightly. She'd try it his way first but if that didn't work, so help her she'd shoot every one of these idiots that stood between her and her husband.

"Oh please." River called quickly, forcing her voice into an unnaturally high and whiny tone. "Oh please, won't someone help me? I've fallen and I can't get up. My ankle hurts so much!" She called from the shadows.

"We're coming miss, don't worry!" One of the guards boomed as River heard the clatter of footsteps coming toward her. Quickly she stepped to the side and they charged to the spot she had stood in only moments before, allowing her to manoeuvre herself behind them and, in one fluid motion, push their heads together so hard that they instantly tumbled to the floor, unconscious.

River stopped only to quickly grab the set of keys from one of the guard's belts and then she was off, through the heavy iron gates, passed the creaking wooden doors and inside the castle. She no longer cared about making noise and felt nothing but sympathy for anyone who got in her way: her only thought was to get up as far as she could as quickly as possible.

As luck would have it she only encountered one set of soldiers who were easily enough distracted by her pushing over a large suit of armour at the other end of the corridor and causing a massive bang. So all in all, she thought as she stood panting outside a plain wooden door at the top of the tallest tower, it could have gone a lot worse. But now she was here she was unsure what course of action she should take: bursting through the door could cause either her or the Doctor to get shot instantly but, also, doing nothing and waiting could result in him being killed while she stood motionless outside. Biting down on her lip hard River placed her ear to the keyhole in an attempt to understand better what was happening inside.

"Just give her back to me! That's all I want and then we'll leave!" The Doctor's not-so-delicate tones assaulted River's ear and she flinched slightly.

"But you had your chance to rescue her and you failed." A different voice, high and girly and silky-smooth in a way that set River's teeth on edge, responded. "Now you must leave her to be saved by her one true love. Those are the rules!"

"Whose rules? These rules are the most ridiculous things I've ever heard- and I've heard a lot of ridiculous things, trust me."

"They are my rules!" The woman growled dangerously. "How dare you-"

"And who are **you** to decide my wife's fate, to decide the fate of all these people?" The Doctor shouted again and River could practically hear him pacing the floor.

"I am the Queen and these are my subjects and I shall do what I damn well please." He voice was so low River suppressed a shiver, wondering just how much power this woman had.

"But don't you want them to be happy?" The Doctor asked, in shock that anyone could be so cold.

"Of course they are happy! Everyone is born into a tried and tested story. Little girls grow up knowing that there is one man out there who will come and rescue them and that they will live happily ever after. What woman wouldn't want that?"

"You clearly haven't met River." The Doctor muttered and River fought against the laughter that tried to bubble up in her throat. "But what has made you want to inflict this on everyone, why would you do this?"

"I think I can take over from here." River smiled as she pushed open the door and stepped inside, trying to act more confident than she felt at that moment. Thankfully it was only the Queen and the Doctor inside the small room and so she didn't have to duck any bullets that she had feared may fly her way.

"Ah you must be-" The Queen began with distain.

"River Song, yes." River grinned across at the Doctor and saw his jaw drop and his eyes grow wide.

"But I thought…" He stammered.

"You just needed to wait, you idiot." River laughed affectionately. "Honestly, as if it could be anyone but you."

"See, I bet you don't disapprove of my system so much now, Doctor, not now you've been reunited with your one true love and can live happily ever after." The Queen sneered.

"Actually 'happily ever after' isn't really our thing, we'd rather bumble along trying not to get killed and sometimes make mistakes but generally have a great time, right Sweetie?" River smiled.

"Very much so. But I still don't understand why-"

"Oh yes, sorry, I was going to explain wasn't I? Well clearly Queenie here got dumped by her boyfriend and then decided to use her grief, and her all ready present magical ability, to make sure that everyone else in the land was destined to live out a fairy-tale existence in the idea that then everyone would be happy."

"Well yes, bravo little Miss know-it-all." The Queen replied sarcastically. "What a wonderful psychological assessment. Shame you'll won't live long enough to tell anyone else."

"Ah yes I thought you might say something like that." River shrugged as she jumped forward and quickly rounded on the Queen, holding a knife in one hand.

"River! No!" The Doctor shouted but it was too late. With one swift movement River slashed in front of her and the witch crumbled from view. "What did you do?" He gasped, looking horrified.

"Hair." River replied simply as she turned around clutching a long section of long blonde hair. "Cut her hair. Cut her power. She's gone now."

"But how did you know?" The Doctor gasped.

"Ah you pick these things up if you read enough books: long hair? Cut it. Magic staff? Break it. Rose in a glass case? Pull the petals off. You get the drift. Now, shall we get out of here before those guards arrive?"

"I thought you'd never ask." He laughed as he grabbed hold of her hand.

"Well I was kind of busy rescuing you." River winked.

"You, rescuing me? That's so not how it works." The Doctor scowled.

"Yes it is." River rolled her eyes as she kissed his cheek.

"Yeah… It is." He groaned.

"C'mon then, Princess." River winked.

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